Food processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A food processing apparatus with electrical heating means as well as smoke curing capability so that food products can be smoke-cured and cooked simultaneously. The food processing apparatus is provided with means to circulate the food curing substances (the flavouring smoke) within an enclosed food processing compartment. An exhaust air passageway provided with a controllable valve and connected with particle absorption and deodorizing means to purify the exhaust air when the food curing smoke is removed from the enclosed food processing compartment is also included to alleviate or eliminate air contamination in the vicinity of the food processing apparatus.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to food processing apparatus and, moreparticularly, to food processing apparatus with heating means as well asfood curing means. More specifically, of course not solely limitedthereto, the present invention relates to an electric oven with meansfor smoke-curing a food product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Food products are frequently smoke treated or smoke cured for additionalor more complicated flavours. Conventionally, food products are usuallysmoke cured or treated in specialized kitchens, factories or shopsbecause specialized equipment or facilities which are usually expensiveand bulky are required. Also, smoke-curing of food products byconventional ways usually require a continuous and prolonged supply offlavouring smokes. As such flavouring smokes usually have a strongsmell, smoke treating or curing of food products domestically or innon-industrial environment has not been particularly popular. On theother hand, home treated or cured food products usually mean lower costsand the added flavour can be adjusted according to personal preferences.

Hence, it will be highly desirable if food processing apparatus withmeans for smoke treating or curing food products can be made availablefor domestic use or for smaller scale applications. In providing suchapparatus, it will be appreciated that one of the major hurdles isprobably the continuous supply of food-curing smoke. Another hurdle thathas to be overcome includes the problems associated with the dischargeof strongly-smelled smoke in domestic or city environment. In thisregard, it will be appreciated that a good smell for one person may be anuisance or a source of allergy to others. Therefore, a controlled,reduced or considered discharge of strongly smelled smokes will be animportant factor if food processing apparatus with smoke treating orcuring capabilities are to become widely used.

Furthermore, conventional ways of food curing by smoking always take along time, for example, a few days. This means that the food productsare usually dried after the smoking process and this is not alwaysdesirable.

Hence, it will be highly desirable if food processing devices orapparatus with means for smoke curing or smoke treating food products ina small scale or domestic environment while alleviating or overcomingthe above known shortcomings or problems are provided.

Specifically, it will be highly desirable if such food processingdevices or apparatus do not emit or discharge strong-smelled food curingsmokes in an unacceptable or uncontrolled manner during or after thefood curing process. Furthermore, it will be highly desirable if suchfood processing devices or apparatus can have the added benefit ofintroducing flavour to the food products by flavouring smokes as well asother appropriate food curing substances during the cooking process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a food processingapparatus, such as an oven, including a main housing with a foodprocessing compartment, electrical heating means, food curing substancescirculation means and food curing substances removal means, said foodcuring substances circulation means includes food curing substancesdispensing means for dispensing food curing substances into said foodprocessing compartment and air circulation means for circulating saidfood curing substances inside said food processing compartment, saidfood curing substances removal means includes means to remove said foodcuring substances from said food processing compartment.

To alleviate pollution to the environment, said food substances removalmeans includes absorption means for absorpting said food curingsubstances at the downstream outlet of said food substances removalmeans.

Preferably, said absorption means includes a deodorizing filter.

Preferably, said main housing further includes a confined channel withan air inlet and an air outlet, said confined channel being incommunication with an air moving device, said air moving device beingdisposed to move said curing substances from said air inlet to said airoutlet through said confined air channel and for subsequent circulationin said food processing compartment.

Preferably, said food curing substances removal means includes an airchannel in communication with said air moving device.

Preferably, a flow control means is provided to selectively connect saidair moving device to be in communication with said air channel of saidfood curing substances removal means or said air channel of said airmoving means which forms a part of the circulating path of said foodcuring substances within said food processing compartment.

Preferably, said flow control means includes a two-way valves.

Preferably, said food processing apparatus further including flowcontrol means to selectively and alternatively activate said food curingcirculation means or said food curing substances removal means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of food processing apparatus of the presentinvention will be explained in further detail by way of example and withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:—

FIG. 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of the food processingapparatus of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the foodprocessing compartment of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken along the lineA-A and illustrating the relative arrangement of the curing substancesdispensing means and the food curing substances extraction or removalmeans,

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 2 andviewed from the top of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus taken from the rightside of FIG. 3 and along the line C-C for illustrative purpose.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

It has been observed that if food products, for example, meats andvegetables, are smoke cured while they are being heated or cooked,flavour will be added to the cooked food in a time compatible with thetypical cooking time. In many instances, it is known that if meat iscured with an appropriate smoke or other curing substances duringcooking, the cooked meat will bcome more succulent and tender. In thefollowing description, an apparatus which takes advantages of the abovewill be described.

Referring to the Figures, there is shown a food processing apparatus 10.The apparatus includes a main housing 20, a food processing compartment30, food curing substances circulation means, food curing substancesremoval means and electrical heating means. The main housing 20 includesa metal casing which forms an enclosure surrounding the top, the bottom,the lateral sides and the back of the food processing compartment 30.The front portion 21 of the main housing includes a hinged door orwindow which is made of a heat resistant transparent material, such asglass. With this transparent window, a user can view through to observeor monitor the conditions of the food products being processed insidethe food processing compartment and to remove the food product at anappropriate time.

The apparatus 10 includes control means for controlling the heating orpower level, temperature, air circulation, fan speed, lighting and otheruseful features. The control means can be accessed through control knobs25 which are provided on the front portion of the main housing 20 whichis adjacent to the transparent window. This front portion includes ametal casing similar to the other parts of the main housing 20 and iscoated with an insulating material to prevent accidental burning. Thebottom portion of the main housing 20 is elevated above the supportingsurface to provide additional thermal insulation. This additionalthermal insulation helps to avoid damaging of the supporting surface dueto prolonged heating or overheating of the supporting surface due toextended periods of contact with the heated compartment.

A removable shelf 31 is placed inside the compartment 30 and issupported by a pair of side racks inside the compartment 30. The shelf31 is located intermediate the top 22 and bottom 23 portions of the foodprocessing compartment 30 so that food products can be placed on theshelf during cooking or curing. This supporting shelf 31 is grated orperforated so that smoke or other fume-like curing substances can passthrough the gratings or perforations of the supporting shelfsubstantially unobstructed. This will assist the curing fume, smoke orsubstances to move around the food processing compartment more freely.For example, the supporting shelf can be made in the form of a metalgrille, a meshed wire screen, a perforated plate or other similarstructures which allow substantial through passage of air. Thetransparent front window 21 is hinged to the main housing 20 and issealed with sealing means around its edges to minimise or alleviate theescape of smell, odour or the curing substances from the food processingcompartment 30. In general, the main housing 20 has a general designsimilar to the housing or casing of a conventional electrical ovencommonly found in homes, offices, restaurants or other similarestablishments.

A food curing substances dispensing means is placed within the mainhousing 30. The dispensing means includes a dispenser 40 for dispensingfood curing smoke into the food processing compartment. The dispensingmeans is communicable with the food processing compartment 30 so thatsmoke or curing substances from the dispensing means can be deliveredinto the compartment 30. A smoke dispenser receiving compartment isformed in the main housing to receive the dispenser 40.

This dispenser receiving compartment 41 is disposed adjacent to and incommunication with the food processing compartment 30. The smokedispenser 40 can, for example, be a container carrying burning charcoal,hickory, wood or other combustible substances or medium suitable forproducing food-curing smoke or flavour. Other combustible materials orsubstances which are suitable for food curing include, for example, woodof Oak, pecan, apple, alder, cherry, maple or mesquite. The substancesare typically featured by their unique or characteristic smells orflavours when burnt. In addition, the smoke dispenser 40 may beelectrically heated to cause continuous or intermittent burning of thecombustible substances to provide a continuous supply of food-curingsubstances such as curing smoke, fume or powder, depending on thedesirable type and method of food curing. For this purpose, electricalheating means 43 are provided. The smoke dispenser 40 includes a drawerwith a front panel 42 and handle for easy insertion into and removalfrom the main housing 20.

A food curing substances circulating means is provided on the mainhousing to provide continuous circulation of the food curing substanceswithin the food processing compartment for optimal food curing. Thiscirculating means is provided to impart even distribution or dispensingof the curing substances. This circulating means provides repeatedcirculation of the food curing substances inside the food processingcompartment. With the circulation of the food curing substances withinthe food processing compartment, the smoke or the other food curingsubstances emanating from the food curing substances dispenser can beefficiently utilized to maximize the curing effect. The food curingsubstances circulating means includes an air moving or circulatingdevice 51 such as a propeller fan which causes forced movement of airwithin the food processing compartment 30.

To enhance even circulation of the food curing substances within thefood processing compartment 30, the air moving device 51 is coupled to aconfined channel 52, such as a conduit or a trough enclosed in the mainhousing. The inlet 53 and outlet 54 of the air channel are preferablyseparated by a distance comparable to the internal dimension of the foodprocessing compartment for maximum spread of distribution of the foodcuring substances. For example, the inlet 53 and outlet 54 of the airchannel are disposed near the top 22 and bottom 23 ends of the foodprocessing compartment so that the food curing substances would have totravel substantially across the whole food processing compartment 30before moving from the air channel inlet 53 to the air channel outlet54. Of course, additional air moving devices or channel outlets can bedistributed within the food processing compartment to further improvethe circulation and distribution of the food curing substances withinthe food processing compartment 30.

Electrical heating means 24 with variable and controllable power levelsare also installed on the main housing for heating the food productsduring the curing process. The electrical heating means and the foodcuring substances circulating means can be separately controlled formore flexible operation and utilization.

In order that the food curing substances can be removed from theapparatus without adversely leaving or escaping through the front window21 when it is opened to remove the cured or cooked food products, an airexhaust passageway 61 connecting the food processing compartment to theoutside is provided in the present preferred embodiment. This airexhaust passageway can be an enclosed channel or a conduit connectingthe inner side of the main housing, which is in communication with thefood processing compartment 30, and the outside of the main housing 20.A further duct or conduit can be provided to provide further extensionof the air passageway to direct the used or residual food curingsubstances away from the food processing apparatus for appropriate orconsidered discharge of the used food curing substances.

An air moving device is provided in connection with the food curingsubstances removal means for more effective removal of the used foodcuring substances from the food processing compartment. The exhaust airpassageway 61 is provided with a controllable valve 62 or gate which isnormally closed when food products are being cured within the foodprocessing compartment. The valve 62 will be opened when the curing orcooking process has completed and undesirable residual food curingsubstances are being removed from the food processing compartment 30.

In the present embodiment, a two-way valve which can alternatively closeeither the air channel 52 or the exhaust air passageway 61 is providedso that the exhaust air passageway 61 could be closed when the foodcuring substances are being circulated within the food processingcompartment.

The circulation air channel 52 will be blocked when the residual foodcuring substances are being removed from the food processing compartment30 through the exhaust air passageway. With this two-way valvearrangement, a single propeller fan 51 can be used as a common airmoving device for both air circulation and the removal of the residualfood curing substances. Of course, separate air moving devices may beused for the food curing substances circulation channel and the exhaustpassageway without loss of generality.

Furthermore, in order to eliminate, or at least alleviate, the smellassociated with the outgoing food curing substances, a deodorizingfilter 63 with particle filtering or absorbing features is provided nearthe exit 64 of the exhaust air passageway. With this additional airfiltering and particle absorption arrangement 63, air contaminationinside and outside of the premises in which the apparatus is used can besubstantially reduced. Of course, the deodorizing filter 63 and theparticle absorption means or filter can be used separately or incombination. Modular filters are provided for easy maintenance andreplacements. Activated carbon or charcoal is a good example ofsubstances suitable for use in the deodorizing filter.

It will be appreciated that the above features can be incorporated intoan oven without undue complication to provide an oven with the abovefood curing features.

While the present invention has been explained by reference to thepreferred embodiments described above, it will be appreciated that theembodiments are only examples to illustrate the present invention andare not meant to be restrictive on the scope of the present invention.The scope of this invention should be determined from general principleswith reference to the examples of the invention described above. Inparticular, variations or modifications which are obvious or trivial topersons skilled in the art, as well as improvements made on the basis ofthe present invention, should be considered as falling within the scopeand boundary of the present invention. Furthermore, while the presentinvention has been explained by reference to smoke curing, it should beappreciated that the invention can apply, whether with or withoutmodification, to other forms of food curing applications without loss ofgenerality.

1. A food processing apparatus including a main housing with a foodprocessing compartment, electrical heating means, food curing substancescirculation means and food curing substances removal means, said foodcuring substances circulation means includes food curing substancesdispensing means for dispensing food curing substances into said foodprocessing compartment and air circulation means for circulating saidfood curing substances inside said food processing compartment, saidfood curing substances removal means includes means to remove said foodcuring substances from said food processing compartment.
 2. A foodprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said food substancesremoval means includes absorption means for absorpting said food curingsubstances at the downstream outlet of said food substances removalmeans.
 3. A food processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein saidabsorption means includes a deodorizing filter.
 4. A food processingapparatus according to claim 1, said main housing further includes aconfined channel with an air inlet and an air outlet, said confinedchannel being in communication with an air moving device, said airmoving device being disposed to move said curing substances from saidair inlet to said air outlet through said confined air channel and forsubsequent circulation in said food processing compartment.
 5. A foodprocessing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said food curingsubstances removal means includes an air channel in communication withsaid air moving device.
 6. A food processing apparatus according toclaim 5, wherein a flow control means is provided to selectively connectsaid air moving device to be in communication with said air channel ofsaid food curing substances removal means or said air channel of saidair moving means which forms a part of the circulating path of said foodcuring substances within said food processing compartment.
 7. A foodprocessing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said flow controlmeans includes a two-way valves.
 8. A food processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, further including flow control means toselectively and alternatively activate said food curing circulationmeans or said food curing substances removal means.